RELATIONSHIPS February 23, 2009 Issue

A PRECIOUS COMMAND

EMILY WALKER BRICKLER

A FEW YEARS AGO, Moses' command not to "bear false witness" took on a new and special meaning for me (Ex. 20:16). I'd always realized that it meant not to say something untrue about someone, but I found I had a lot more to learn.

I'd been working as a teacher's assistant and was asked to help with a particular fifth-grade boy. He'd acted violently more than once and had even pulled a knife on his classroom teacher. He'd also been caught stealing, not only from his classmates but from the teacher as well.

The principal asked if I would tutor this student until he could go to another school, where he could be given the best help. I agreed, and each school day for the next two weeks he and I spent six hours together. He was not allowed to go anywhere without me, and he was never allowed to be with other students. This was a daunting assignment. So every morning before I headed off to work, I'd pray to see this boy the way God had made him: in His image and likeness (see Gen. 1:26, 27). I knew that I could see him that way, even if others were not.